For those whose lives don't count

Our never ending Machiavelianism

The seemingly unrelenting US attitude toward the rest of the world, which consistently go against the human rights of non-Western peoples, seem to be as indellible and as perennial as our very existence as a world power. When the NY Times recently ran an “expose” of the kind of foreign advisor the Obama administration relies on, one which shuns the “old guard” of foreign policy experts, I was actually a little joyed. I thought maybe we are finally learning to respect other people around the planet as having living souls and beating hearts just like us, and the departure from the old philosophy of interest-above-everything could only be toward a more moral paradigm.

Then John Kerry sits down with Egypt’s Sisi and I just shake my head.

It’s not funny, but I almost want to laugh at the intransigence of our own lack of regard toward other nations. I know they teach such disregard at ivy league schools. I know it’s been going on for decades now, but come on! Can’t we stand up for what’s right just once? Just for the sake of.. I dunno.. surprise?

Sisi just needs to introduction. His rise from being an utter nobody to somebody was by a coup in which he killed over 1,200 civilian protesters (a killing which is still taking place at various demonstrations intermittently) and detaining thounsands. He is characteristically clumsy in his speeches, to the point where he is literally uncapable of handling any serious questions from a foreign reporter. His economic record has been disasterous. He somehow managed to lower the IQ of his entire population into a jingoistic, believe-anything mash of brain matter and steroids.

He’s basically known for nothing good. Nothing. The only thing he did was mark the fragile end to a staged counterrevolution by simply sitting on the throne that the Egyptian Deep State (with our help) cleared for him. That’s it. Everything else he’s known for is bad. Everything.

Trust me, I try really hard to be the devil’s advocate before writing a piece like this. But it’s hard to justify our love affair with Sisi. I know there’s Libya and ISIS and Sudan and Israel to worry about, but that still does not justify the fact that we even let him take over, let alone that we continue to approve of him in the most pandering terms. This is just plain disgraceful.

More prudently, I can’t help but put myself in the shoes of the many Egyptians who lost loved ones on the hands of Sisi when they see our Secretary of State sitting with their butcher and following up with a flowery statement completely whitewashing their anguish. What must be going through their heads? What must be going through the heads of the millions of Arabs and Muslims who despise Sisi for his dismal record?

We really don’t want world peace, do we? I mean, when are we just going to admit it? Not that world peace is impossible, but that we simply don’t want it?